Huh

For once I am speechless: S.F. police union accuses William Ayers in 1970 bombing

Leaders of San Francisco's police officers union have accused Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers and his wife, Bernardine Dohrn, of taking part in the 1970 bombing of a city police station that killed a sergeant.

The attack happened Feb. 16, 1970, when a bomb placed on a window ledge of Park Station at Waller Street and Kezar Drive killed McDonnell and injured eight other officers. 

Dare we dream that Bill Ayers might be tried for murder ... in San Francisco? 

The union leveled the charge in a letter to a conservative organization lobbying for arrests in the case, but said it had not been in contact with investigators and had no new evidence related to the bombing, which killed Sgt. Brian McDonnell.

Instead, the union cited information from a former Bay Area resident, Larry Grathwohl, who is working with the conservative group, America's Survival Inc. of Maryland. Grathwohl asserts that he infiltrated the Weather Underground as an FBI informant and heard Ayers confess to a role in the bombing.

Uh Oh. A "conservative group" is behind this. Why, it's practically a right wing coup! 

Grathwohl is not some recent arriviste to the Ayers circus. He has been telling Weathermen stories since the early eighties, and some are quite chilling. He memorably described on videotape a typical Weathermen bull session where they discussed the logistical hurdles the revolution would face in re-educating millions of recalcitrant free marketers after The Revolution. I have no idea what his politics are, but the fact that he lived in Castro Valley is enough for most San Franciscans to dismiss him as a hick. 

"There are irrefutable and compelling reasons to believe that Bill Ayers and his wife Bernardine Dohrn ... are largely responsible for the bombing of Park Police Station," the letter says.

The letter, dated Feb. 24, is signed by union president Gary Delagnes, vice president Kevin Martin, secretary Tony Montoya, treasurer Martin Halloran and sergeant at arms Christopher Breen.

That's practically the entire leadership of the union, so they must be taking this seriously. "Funny," that they didn't try to interest the police brass or District Attorney in this story. The union specifically cites Ayers' book tour and seeming increased fame as partial motivation for this. I can see why seeing him strut around like a Warrior for Democracy might be pretty annoying.  

Ayers, meanwhile, is not taking this lying down.

Ayers has denied any involvement in the bombing and, in January, called Grathwohl a "paid dishonest person" in an interview with The Chronicle.

A "paid dishonest person?" I have to admit, I find that locution completely unconvincing. Hopefully, there will be much much more.